Writing the "Old Way"

The following post is from Purposeful Prose’s own guest writer, Chartres Royal. We continue to enjoy every collaboration we’ve been a part of. This experiment was introduced to me as a continuation of our work on writing and technology. While this isn’t a conventional “writing and technology” piece, we’ve found that it’s important to spotlight undervalued writing tools and methods of writing we’ve relied on over time.

Recently, I was having a conversation with my mother about writing. The actual physical act, not just the creative process. She had decided to start on a project of her own. She has a large collection of hand-written recipes, mostly just notes and loose scraps of paper, collected from many different sources over the years. She wanted to have them all collected into one proper book, but she decided against using a computer. She wanted to rewrite all of them by hand into a notebook for safekeeping. 

While doing this, she told me, she realized how little we use older methods of writing like that. She’s not wrong. I’d wager the same for a lot of you as well. I didn’t even have a proper collection of pens and pencils on my desk until she mentioned that, and I realized I needed them. Can you imagine? A desk without pens or pencils? 

It’s true. I never really needed them. Even though I have them now, I still don’t use them as often. Everything is done through the computer these days. I write articles like this using the writing software on my work PC and send it with a message to my editor (who is an absolute delight, and you should all tell them so).

Note from the Editor: I am extremely grateful to be able to work with our guest writer and these articles. It took a while for us to find a system for editing that worked for both of us. Since editing is a communication-based process, we were able to find a way to exchange feedback in a way that made the most sense for both of us. I highly encourage all writers to consider the way they are best able to receive feedback when they’ve submitted their projects for editing. 

If my editor has notes or corrections, we fix them through a program too. Long gone are the days of packaging a manuscript into a large envelope, mailing it off to your editor, having them return it with notes and corrections written in red ink, re-writing, and mailing it off again. My editor doesn’t even use red ink when making corrections on my work. It’s a font color!

Note from the Editor: The tradition of marking papers using red ink goes back as far as Ancient Egypt. While red ink provides excellent contrast and marks urgency, the common association between red ink and corrections [or even failure] has negatively impacted student performance. Many teachers have taken this onboard, using blue or green ink that provides adequate contrast, but does not have the same association.

This got me thinking about those old instruments of writing and what it was like to write things way back when. Granted, “way back when” was also during my lifetime, so I suppose I am also one of those writing relics. It gave me a new angle from which to start a project. We often talk about the process of writing. A given “process of writing” is a concept that all writers understand. However, if you’ll indulge me a bit, I’d like to talk with you all about working with these older tools. This is not just a nostalgia trip. I went through with the experiment and tried several for myself with varying degrees of success.

Part One: The Classic Quill

When I was much, much younger, I was gifted a quill set. It was a fun way to write things even if my handwriting was atrocious. Continuing further, I’ll leave out the question of “Can you read it clearly?” from the handwriting tools sections of this article because, in my case, the answer is “not well.” Still, the quill set was a joy to use. It felt less like writing a note or a letter and more like painting it. You’re not just sending well wishes in a letter, you’re drawing out your wishes in elaborate and creative strokes. In my case, they’re lines that somewhat resembled letters once. In either case it is fun to use. Writing, as I often say, should be a joy. 

However, like paints, the type of ink one uses for writing with a quill does not dry fast. If your plan is to write out a quick note or letter and send it off within a few moments, I have terrible news. A quill is also prone to being a problem for those of us who write left-handed. Smudging is a common issue with this implement, and writing right-handed can mostly, but not entirely, prevent that. It can still happen if you’re not acutely aware of your hand placement when writing.

Those who used the quill often would be used to probable issues and developed habits around them. However, if you’re like me and grew up with the pen and pencil, accidentally smudging or making a bit of a mess of things can happen.

There is also the matter of the ink. It was a little difficult to get my hands on some, but I attribute that to where I live and less actual scarcity. One does tend to lack a variety of amenities when one lives in the middle of nowhere, but I digress. When painting, a painter will need to re-apply paint to their brush. A quill is the same way, and it does strike me as odd but only in the sense that, in my lifetime, one does not often have to replace an ink cartridge for a pen. Again, the quill is more akin to the paintbrush.

No matter what issues I may have had, I do encourage all of you to at least give it a try. It is fun to see how things were done so long ago and interact with history. Your writings with a quill will come out better than mine, of that I’m sure. 

Part Two: The Classic Pencil

This one caught me off-guard. Of course, we all know how to use a pencil. One end is sharp, graphite powder mixed with a clay binder used to make marks, and the other end is the standard rubber eraser. So, what caught me off-guard? The feelings. 

Dear reader, humans have a very powerful sensory memory. We tend to associate sensations, sounds, and smells with memories and feelings. I sat down with a notepad and a pencil and started working out whatever was in my mind. I was overcome with memories of doing exactly the same action in school. How many notes did we take back then? How many notes were needed for class? How many were just to pass to friends?

The writing experience with a pencil is exactly what you think it is. It makes the marks, you write what you need to, no mess, no problems. That delightful sound of writing with one remains. You know the sound. Even reading this, you might be imagining it. There is something soothing and delightful about it. To me, it’s as similar as the typing of a keyboard. It’s the sound of something being done. Some work or project is taking place and progress is being made. The sound of a pencil is the literal sound of creativity at work.

Oftentimes, in the creative process, we skip over little moments like this. It’s not just the act of writing another fantastic work or creating a beautiful poem. There’s also what the act of creating sounds like. The scratch of the pencil on paper, the sound of the page turning, the smell of the wood from both instruments. All of these things can add to the atmosphere of creativity.

In using a pencil, I was also reminded of so many old things from my days at school. How often would you need to make sure your pencils were sharp and ready for work? How many different kinds of pencil sharpeners were always around? Sure, you had the small one you kept with you in your backpack or binder. I even have a small one like that on my desk. But then, there was the electric one at the front of the classroom that, somehow, you were always the one who had to empty before you could use it. Maybe that was just me. Then, there was the old hand-crank sharpener. How many of you remember that particular beast? It was usually bolted to the wall and never quite far enough away from that wall wall to keep you from knocking into it when sharpening your pencil. It was also a process to use. You’d crank it, check, and then have to do it again because you didn’t get it right. All the while, you were standing there and accidentally knocking into the wall because the little handle was just too darn close!

I’m sure there are still students and writers out there using one, if not all, of these old tools but it is nice to take a moment to appreciate the little memories. Just wander down memory lane for a bit with a familiar old No. 2 friend.

Part Three: The Pen

It’s mightier than the sword.

Moving on!

The pen is much like the pencil, obviously, but I don’t have quite as many school memories with this one. When I was in school, we were told over and over not to use pens because you can’t erase them.

Then, they made erasable pens.

Still, they told us not to use them. School was...odd, to say the least. I’m sure many of you got that lecture as well. “If you make a mistake, you can’t erase ink!” is right up there with “It’s not like you’ll always have a calculator with you.” These phrases aged as well as the milk in the lunchroom.

There are many kinds of pens, as you already know, most likely. A lot of my experience with them comes from not being able to find one when I needed to or the collective silliness that came from weird styles of pens that everyone in your class wanted. 

In my research of odd pens and pencils that I remembered from my school days, I recalled so many. I had a classmate who had one of those pens that, when you click it, it was like the Magic 8 Ball, “modernized” for the 90s student, of course. So, you could ask if you were getting homework that day, click the pen, and it would display, “No way, dude!” in the little window. Silly, but so much fun.

The one I remember most and used for so long was one Nickelodeon novelty pen. It had a green, squishy grip that all my classmates thought was unusual. I really liked it. Something about it made it so much easier to write with. I also noticed that, with both pens and pencils, length and weight are important. This novelty pen was a great balance for being so silly. I think I used it all the way until high school when the ink finally gave out, and I had to get a newer one.

Then, dear reader, being the cool high school student I was, I had to have the cool pen. You probably know which one it is, too. If you are around my age and in school at the time, there are only a handful of “cool” things like that. The silver “space pen.” You can write in zero gravity with this pen which, of course, was super-important for a student who never left the ground. It doesn’t matter if it’s impractical and a little expensive. It was cool. At least, it was the coolest until you could get the pens with the laser pointer built into them, which my school quickly banned. Kids never change, do they?

Part Four: The Typewriter/Word Processor

I’m putting these two together because of the machine I have. My experience with a Personal Word Processor (PWP) came from a wonderful older word processor that has some personal ties to it. I have a Smith Corona PWP 90 in my possession. I don’t blame you if you need to look that up. The age of the Personal Word Processor came and went rather quickly.

The idea of a PWP is that a desktop computer is so much stuff to have on a desk, and you don’t need all of that hardware. You just need something to do your proper letter and document-making, then you can get back to the real work of...doing...whatever it is businesspeople did without computers in the seventies and eighties. Honestly, I’m not sure what they did. Smoke? Probably smoke. A lot.

The word processor! Similar to how any document software works on your computer, you type out what you need to, edit it however you need, and then print it out. Simple, yes? Well, the reason I put this and the typewriter together is because, oftentimes, your word processor is a typewriter as well. Mine certainly is. They have a typewriter mode that translates every key press into a letter typed by the typewriter, or you can just use the word processor, and have it print the document after you’re finished.

I won’t lie, using this thing is a delight. I’ve been using it for all my personal letters. The screen isn’t the best, and I would love a model that can use a proper monitor. However, it’s the printing process that sets it apart. Your modern printer is a quiet humming machine that moves line by line and makes the document you want. Simple, fast, quiet, and modern. A PWP was very common for the home or office. 

There’s also something delightful and relaxing about using a machine that you know you can only be distracted from by a totally separate system or action. The word processor, in most cases, has no internet and runs no other programs aside from the one for processing words. It has a very simple job, and it does that job very well. It’s not a surprise that modern word processors are made in this fashion. The machine made for work is easier to focus your energy for work into. This is why I have a separate computer for writing. 

That being said, I have seen retro word processors that can export documents to a 3x5 floppy disk and a USB compatible disk drive. My future articles, someday, may all be written on technology that was the height of writing power in 1985. One can dream, right?

Conclusion

It’s nice to go back and experiment, to try new things, and to work with the things you may have forgotten enjoying. Writing is a physical process. If you find that sitting at your computer and writing isn’t giving you the joy you want from your creativity, try something else. There’s no shame in wanting to use a pencil or even an old word processor. Maybe you have something else entirely. If it brings you joy, then do it. Creativity should be fun, and that includes the act of creating.